Police in Boston were by far the city's top earners last year, with 25 Police Department employees earning more than $200,000, nearly four times the number who made that amount in 2005, according to city payroll figures released to the Globe.

Of the 125 highest paid city employees last year, all but one -- Superintendent of Schools Michael G. Contompasis, who made $221,574 -- were police officers, the records show.

Police have long been big earners in Boston, where a powerful union and private detail work have helped boost pay. But in 2006, the amounts were higher than in recent years. Police Lieutenant Timothy M. Kervin collected $240,183 in 2006, making him the top earner in a department in which 1,276 employees, about 41 percent of the force, made $100,000 or more. In 2005, 1,026 employees, about 36 percent of the force, made $100,000 or more.

City officials attributed much of the increase in police pay to increased detail work and overtime, prompting some city watchdogs to say that overtime has prevented the city from making strides toward a larger police force.

"This is one of the reasons why it's difficult for the city of Boston to add more police officers and expand the force, because the position itself is so expensive," said Samuel R. Tyler, president of the Boston Municipal Research Bureau, a business-funded group.

In 2006, the average uniformed police officer made $113,617, including $35,600 in detail and overtime pay, according to figures provided by city budget officials. Firefighters, on average, made $91,087 in 2006, including about $12,500 in overtime and detail pay. The average teacher made $62,195 in total pay.

The Quinn bill and mandatory police details have been the biggest pieces of crock in Boston for years, not to mention our crooked police union.

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The police union is like every other union around here. Take the police union, add up all the others, and you begin to understand why people are moving out of this state in droves. All we need now is a couple of more Cadillacs, wifes aides, and some drivers licenses for illegals.

For some reason and through some manner I never fully understood, cops and teachers in Massachusetts have a reputation of being horribly underpaid servants of the general public when both groups do, in fact, receive a very generous compensation.

For some reason and through some manner I never fully understood, cops and teachers in Massachusetts have a reputation of being horribly underpaid servants of the general public when both groups do, in fact, receive a very generous compensation.

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That's not true for teachers, they make about $40K in Masachusetts. Though how many people only have to work 185 days a year?

The police union is like every other union around here. Take the police union, add up all the others, and you begin to understand why people are moving out of this state in droves. All we need now is a couple of more Cadillacs, wifes aides, and some drivers licenses for illegals.

This state sucks.

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Add this on top of horribly mismanaged public works projects like the Big Dig, as well as the fact that tons of people are flooding the Massachusetts healthcare system from out of state.

The response to this always surprises me, particularly the responses amongst the law and order crowd. Public safety, whether it be on the streets or in the Jails is tremendously expensive. Have to think about the pensions as well, as we will be paying for this stuff for a lot of years.

I used to work corrections, and there were a few who used to make 100K + per year, every year we would hear that OT was drying up.. it never did. Those folks who made the biggest bucks, had no life, and a couple died shortly after they retired. The money is deceptive, as you have to work a lot of shifts to make that much money.. it is not a party politics thing, it is a functional to the needs of public safety.

That's not true for teachers, they make about $40K in Masachusetts. Though how many people only have to work 185 days a year?

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Whoops..!! Heaven forbid we let facts get in the way, but the article that started this thread says the average teacher makes over $60,000. Not bad for working only 9 months (with an additional 4 weeks of vacation during that 9 month period).

It used to be that when a police officer was hired by a private party that the private party "payed", a police officer was hired so there would be somebody with Police Powers to make arrests if needed.

Why would anybody object to a Cop making a million dollars a week as long as the Taxpayer wasn't paying the bill, good luck to them.

It used to be that when a police officer was hired by a private party that the private party "payed", a police officer was hired so there would be somebody with Police Powers to make arrests if needed.

Why would anybody object to a Cop making a million dollars a week as long as the Taxpayer wasn't paying the bill, good luck to them.

Go Sign Up, take the exam become a Cop.

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Private details like that aren't the problem (except that they leave a more overworked and less alert cop), I was just discussing them because someone asked. Unlike private parties, most road details are paid by the taxpayer.

Private details like that aren't the problem (except that they leave a more overworked and less alert cop), I was just discussing them because someone asked. Unlike private parties, most road details are paid by the taxpayer.

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Not to mention that they are in addition to regular shifts, and I'm not sure I want heavily armed cops on duty after pulling an extra 30 hours a week doing details. Not sure what the average hours per week the details average out to.

Private details like that aren't the problem (except that they leave a more overworked and less alert cop), I was just discussing them because someone asked. Unlike private parties, most road details are paid by the taxpayer.

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When cops work extra detail work, they get paid in four-hour chunks at something like $25-35/hour. So, if a cop is directing traffic for 15 minutes while a construction crew is hogging the road, the cop gets paid for 4 hours. If the cop does this for 4 hours and 5 minutes, the pay is for 8 hours. This makes doing detail work very attractive and cops, especially those without families, will sign up for such details as much as possible. This is how these cops are raking in the dough.